Trump Character Ratings Improved, but Still a Weakness

Story Highlights

Four in 10 say Trump has personality, leadership qualities of a president

Americans divide evenly on whether they agree with him on issues

Trump ideological profile similar to George W. Bush's

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- More Americans today (40%) than two years ago (33%) believe President Donald Trump has the personality and leadership qualities a president should have, although that still represents a minority of the public. In contrast, roughly six in 10 Americans thought George W. Bush and Barack Obama had the right presidential characteristics at a similar point in their presidencies.

The April 17-30 Gallup poll finds Trump's character continues to be a weakness for him, especially given the generally strong ratings of his predecessors on the same question. In fact, neither Obama nor Bush ever had a rating lower than 49% during their presidencies.

Still, assessments of Trump's character are not as poor as they were two years ago, consistent with his improved job approval ratings between the two periods. Slightly more Republicans, Democrats and independents now believe he has the character a president should have than did so in July 2017.

Changes in Perception That Donald Trump Has the Personality and Leadership Qualities a President Should Have

Please tell me whether you agree or disagree that Donald Trump has the personality and leadership qualities a president should have.

2017

2019

Change

% Agree

% Agree

pct. pts.

U.S. Adults

33

40

+7

Republicans

74

81

+7

Independents

27

31

+4

Democrats

6

13

+7

Gallup

Trump Rated Better on Issues Than Character

More Americans evaluate Trump positively for his issue positions than for his character -- 47% say they agree with Trump on the issues that matter most to them. Unlike his deficit on the character dimension, Trump scores about the same as his two predecessors on issues.

Like his ratings on presidential character, Trump's issue ratings are better than the last time Gallup asked the question. The 47% of Americans expressing agreement with Trump on issues is up from 39% in July 2017. As would be expected, there are wide party differences on this question, although slightly more Republicans, Democrats and independents indicate issue agreement with Trump now than did two years ago.

Change in Perceived Agreement or Disagreement With President Trump on the Issues

Please tell me whether you agree or disagree with Donald Trump -- on the issues that matter most to you.

2017

2019

Change

%

%

pct. pts.

U.S. Adults

Agree with Trump

39

47

+8

Disagree with Trump

58

53

-5

Republicans

Agree with Trump

89

93

+4

Disagree with Trump

10

7

-3

Independents

Agree with Trump

33

40

+7

Disagree with Trump

63

59

-4

Democrats

Agree with Trump

5

11

+6

Disagree with Trump

93

88

-5

Gallup

Perceptions of Trump Ideology Similar to Those of George W. Bush

For the first time, Gallup asked Americans to characterize Trump's ideology. Thirty-nine percent say he is too conservative, 38% believe he is about right, and 17% say too liberal. Opinions of Trump's ideology nearly duplicate those of the previous Republican president, George W. Bush, who in early 2004 was regarded as too conservative by 39%, as about right by 36%, and too liberal by 18%.

A slim majority of Americans in early 2012 said Obama's views were too liberal (51%), and 41% said the same about Bill Clinton in early 1996.

The vast majority of Republicans describe Trump's political views as being "about right." Meanwhile, six in 10 Democrats say he is too conservative, and a plurality of independents agree.

Perceptions of Donald Trump's Political Views

Do you think Donald Trump's political views are too conservative, about right or too liberal?

Too liberal

About right

Too conservative

%

%

%

U.S. Adults

17

38

39

Republicans

7

77

15

Independents

19

32

42

Democrats

21

9

62

April 17-30, 2019

Gallup

Bottom Line

As Trump seeks a second term, his chances of winning re-election appear greater if the campaign is decided on issues rather than character. His two immediate predecessors were viewed similarly to him on issues but were rated far superior on character. Both ultimately won re-election.

Democrats can enhance their odds of beating Trump in 2020 by nominating a candidate who is perceived as having a strong character. That is something they did not do in 2016, when Hillary Clinton was the Democratic nominee. She, like Trump, was widely thought to be dishonest and untrustworthy, thus negating one of Trump's obvious weaknesses and making character less of a factor in voters' decision-making processes.

Democrats also must be careful not to nominate a candidate who is perceived as out of the mainstream on issues. Doing so could elevate issues as a voting factor and work to Trump's advantage if more voters say they agree with Trump than the Democratic candidate on the most important issues.

Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted April 17-30, 2019, with a random sample of 1,024 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting.

Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 70% cellphone respondents and 30% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by time zone within region. Landline and cellular telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods.

Recommended

In contrast to what was the case for Barack Obama and George W. Bush, more Americans say they agree with Donald Trump on issues than say he has the personality and leadership qualities a president should have.